Motivation: Your biggest enemy

How many times we’ve said “This will be my year! I’ll be in the best shape of my life” “Hear me out, this year I will workout!” “I’m going to pay for a full year membership, because if I pay for it, then I’ll definitely go the entire year!” I think we all know how it ends, the first couple of months you can clearly see a gym full of people, people running in the park, etc and by March all this motivation goes away.

I’m sure most of us have heard the expression “Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going” well, I hate to break it out for you, but it’s true. But let me tell you something, the good thing about motivation is that it can help to kickstart your healthy lifestyle. I mean who doesn’t love buying the newest Garmin, Fitbit, Apple Watch, all new gym gear, stocking your fridge with wholesome ingredients and getting ready for all those IG pictures.

But, why is motivation the biggest enemy? Well, this feeling is not going to stay forever, I’m sure you can relate with the following scenarios:

You had a long day at work.

You’re tired.

It’s raining.

*Insert another excuse here*

Whatever the reason may be, there will always come a point where motivation wears off. Again, don’t get me wrong we all need the motivation even if we’ve been in this fitness journey for our entire life, maybe a motivational YouTube video, a race, new gear, a new workout buddy, the motivation rush is amazing!

Rather than giving in to these, and hope this motivation comes back, you need to rely on your habits.

So, enough of all the chit-chat I’m going to share with you 4 tips to achieve your fitness goals:

Create healthy lifestyle habits you can follow:I’ve said it in previous posts, don’t try to eat the world in one day. Take it one day at a time, we usually set tons of goals: do cardio, lift weights, eat healthy, stop drinking soda, go to bed earlier and so on. While each of these is a great goal, they are a bit overwhelming to take on all at once. So baby steps, this way you’ll create a habit, one day at a time.

Be flexible: If you’re too busy to work out or simply don’t feel up to it, take a day or two off. Be gentle with yourself if you need a break. The important thing is to get back on track as soon as you can. Just don’tmake a habit out of not working out “because you don’t feel it”. Trust me you won’t regret the endorphins high.

Get a workout buddy:Seriously, this never gets old. Sometimes I just don’t feel like training but I’ve gotta say I’m a lucky girl. I’ve been surrounded by amazing people my entire life to help me achieve my fitness goals. You just need to find the right person.

Make it fun: Find sports or activities that you enjoy, then vary the routine to keep you on your toes. If you’re not enjoying your workouts, try something different. It’s ok to change your routine. For me, everytime I’m done with my Ironman 70.3 training I get frustrated of doing the same thing for months, so I try to spice it up and join a different challenging class. I’m a terrible dancer, so joining a class that involves this kind of coordination definitely keeps my mind distracted.